SOCIAL MEDIA AND SELECTION: HOW DOES NEW TECHNOLOGY CHANGE AN
OLD GAME?
Abstract
A variety of sources indicate decision makers use social media, such as Facebook and
LinkedIn, to make decisions regarding potential employees. Unfortunately, there is scant
academic research on the implications of this practice. To shed light on the relationship between
social media and selection, we investigate whether applicants’ political attitudes and
individuating information (i.e., job-related information) found on social media impact decision
makers’ evaluations of job candidates’ likeability, similarity, and “hireability”. To evaluate these
relationships, we conducted an experiment, which manipulated presentation of political attitudes
and individuating information on two social media platforms. Our results indicated perceived
similarity influenced liking and in turn, hireability, for all of our political conditions, regardless
of the social media platform information was viewed on. Further, we found such effects in spite
of individuating information. The study has many implications for practice, including indicating
that political information on social media may influence hiring decisions; suggesting a need for
future research on how to craft appropriate hiring policies.